With the Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, the mood in the Southern states seems decidedly favourable towards the BJP, according to a News18 Opinion Poll.
The poll surveyed 20,346 votes across the four southern states — 5,751 in Andhra Pradesh, 6,605 in Karnataka, 4,366 in Kerala, and 3,624 in Telangana.
PM & Centre's Performance
Of those surveyed, 71% said they were very satisfied with the performance of the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past five years — a whopping 89% in AP, 77% in BJP stronghold Karnataka, 86% in Telangana, and just 35% in Kerala.
| State | Polled | Percentage |
| Andhra Pradesh | 5,751 | 89% |
| Karnataka | 6,605 | 77% |
| Kerala | 4,366 | 35% |
| Telangana | 3,634 | 86% |
Economic situation
Overall, 54% of all southern voters polled said they are in a better economic condition now as compared with five years ago — 68% in AP, 56% in Karnataka, 41% in Kerala, and 64% in Telangana. Along the same lines, a majority of those polled, 61%, hold an optimistic outlook for the next five years, believing that their economic condition will improve. They include 72% from AP, 62% from Karnataka, 61% in Kerala, and 65% in Kerala.
Past five years
| State | Polled | Percentage |
| Andhra Pradesh | 5,751 | 68% |
| Karnataka | 6,605 | 56% |
| Kerala | 4,366 | 41% |
| Telangana | 3,634 | 64% |
Next five years
| State | Polled | Percentage |
| Andhra Pradesh | 5,751 | 72% |
| Karnataka | 6,605 | 62% |
| Kerala | 4,366 | 61% |
| Telangana | 3,634 | 65% |
Voters also expressed optimism about their family's future, with 62% stating that they expect the situation to improve in the next five years. Of these, 58% were from AP, as many from Karnataka, 71% from Kerala (the highest among southern states), and 62% from Telangana.
| State | Polled | Percentage |
| Andhra Pradesh | 5,751 | 58% |
| Karnataka | 6,605 | 58% |
| Kerala | 4,366 | 71% |
| Telangana | 3,634 | 62% |
Views about the sitting MP
Surprisingly, a very low percentage of voters (19.5%) are unhappy with the MPs from their constituencies. Tamil Nadu sends 39 MPs to the Lok Sabha, Kerala 20, Andhra Pradesh 25, and Telangana 17, for a total of 101 from the four states. About 18% of respondents from Andhra Pradesh are somewhat to very dissatisfied with their MP, 18% from Karnataka, 29% from Kerala (the highest), and 13% from Telangana.
MPs' performance report
| State | Polled | Percentage |
| Andhra Pradesh | 5,751 | 18% |
| Karnataka | 6,605 | 18% |
| Kerala | 4,366 | 29% |
| Telangana | 3,634 | 13% |
Is the Modi wave strong?
| State | Polled | Percentage |
| Andhra Pradesh | 5,751 | 49% |
| Karnataka | 6,605 | 80% |
| Kerala | 4,366 | 75% |
| Telangana | 3,634 | 67% |
The News18 poll also surveyed 7,163 BJP voters in the four states, a majority of whom said they would press the Lotus symbol regardless of the candidate, purely because of PM Narendra Modi. BJP stronghold Karnataka polled the highest, with 80% saying they will vote for Modi/BJP regardless of whom the party fields, closely followed by Kerala at 75%. Andhra Pradesh recorded 49% and Telangana 67%, clearly demonstrating that the Modi wave, which started in 2014, has yet to ebb.
(Edited by : Akanksha Upadhyay)
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